1976 Andersonstown incident

Brief altercation between the IRA and British Army
54°34.18′N 5°59.41′W / 54.56967°N 5.99017°W / 54.56967; -5.99017Belligerents

Provisional IRA

 United Kingdom

  • British Army
Strength

5 IRA men

1 Ford Cortina

1 foot patrol

2 Land RoversCasualties and losses 1 killed and 1 injured 0 3 civilians killed and 1 injured
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The Troubles
in Ireland
1960s and 1970s

1980s

1990s

The 1976 Andersonstown incident or the 1976 Andersonstown-Finaghy incident, was a brief altercation between members of the Provisional IRA and the British Army, in Andersonstown and North Finaghy, in August 1976. Which resulted in the deaths of 3 children who were killed when a car struck them after its driver was killed.

Incident

On 10 August 1976 a member of the of the Provisional IRA’s Belfast Brigade, Daniel 'Danny' Lennon (23) stole a light blue Ford Cortina at the Centra Moneen Filling Station on the corner of Andersonstown Road and Finaghy Road North.[1] Lennon then went to pick up fellow IRA member John 'Sean-Glas' Chillingworth, the two men would then meet up with three other IRA members. Lennon was planning to deliver his broken ArmaLite rifle which was gift from Bobby Sands, because Lennon had supplied Sands with explosives which were used in a landmine attack on the British Army.[2][3]

Shortly before 2.30 p.m. gunfire was exchanged between the three men and soldiers in a Land Rover and foot patrol of the King's Own Royal Border Regiment, the three men would go down Rossnareen Avenue, where they successfully evaded the pursuing soldiers by going through some estates, but Lennon and Chillingworth were still being pursued by one of the Land Rovers, Lennon would drive down Shaw's Road and Andersonstown Road and then finally down Finaghy Road North.[1][2]

While on Finaghy Road North, Chillingworth allegedly pointed the broken rifle at the Land Rover and in response the soldiers opened fire on the Cortina, instantly killing Lennon and injuring Chillingworth, who was shot in the leg and abdomen.[4] The car then mounted the pavement, pinning four members of the Maguire family against a metal fence, near the St. John the Baptist Primary School and intersection of Finaghy Road North and Brenda Park. The crash would kill Andrew (6 weeks) who was still in his pram, Joanne (8) who was riding a bicycle and John Maguire (2); Andrew and Joanne died instantly while John died the next day; the only one to have survived the crash was the children’s mother Anne Maguire (31) who suffered severe leg and pelvic injuries as well as brain damage and was left unconscious for several days, while Mark Maguire (7) narrowly escaped being hit by the Cortina, because he was few yards ahead of the rest of his family.[1][5][6]

Aftermath

Two days after the incident, Anne's sister Mairead Corrigan and her neighbor who also witnessed the incident Betty Williams founded the Women for Peace, which was later renamed to the Peace People when Ciaran McKeown became involved in the group. Corrigan and Williams then held a petition for peace that had over 6,000 signatures and led a peaceful march to the children’s graves, but was stopped by angered protesters.[6] On 5 December 1976 the Community of Peace People began two marches in Belfast and Dublin, the marchers would meet on the Bridge of Peace in Drogheda, over 35,000 people participated in the march. Corrigan and Williams would be awarded the 1976 Nobel Peace Prize for their activism to end the conflict in Northern Ireland.[6][7]

Anne Maguire (née Corrigan: born 1945) and her husband Jackie would emigrate to New Zealand with their son Mark in 1977, and would have another daughter. The family then emigrated back to Belfast less than a year later after Anne had a nervous breakdown.[2]

Around 41 months later on 18 January 1980, Anne would take her own life by slitting her wrists and throat with an electric carving knife at her flat in Belfast, while preparing for a three day trip to Cambodia.[2][4]

References

  1. ^ a b c "August 11th, 1976". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2023-11-27.
  2. ^ a b c d "World: Tragedy of a Broken Heart". Time. 1980-02-04. ISSN 0040-781X. Retrieved 2023-11-13.
  3. ^ "Passenger of car that killed three children during IRA gunfight dies". BelfastTelegraph.co.uk. 2023-11-22. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2024-06-25.
  4. ^ a b "A Cross of Wasted Suffering; The Peace People at War | Magill". magill.ie. Retrieved 2023-11-13.
  5. ^ "Mairead Corrigan Maguire | RFK Human Rights". ROBERT F. KENNEDY HUMAN RIGHTS. Retrieved 2023-11-09.
  6. ^ a b c "History – the Peace PEOPLE". www.peacepeople.com. Retrieved 2023-11-09.
  7. ^ "Bridge of Peace vigil on August 10 for Maguire family and peace". Independent.ie. 2016-08-05. Retrieved 2024-02-09.